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Ombudsman exposes tweeting cop and slams Durham force

Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin identified the Durham police officer who sent him offensive tweets in early August as Det. Jeff Caplan. The fraud investigator has won national awards for his work shutting down an organized crime syndicate's multimillion-dollar card skimming operation. He now a faces discreditable conduct charge under the Police Services Act. (TIM ALAMENCIAK / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

Det. Jeff Caplan has admitted he was the author of offensive tweets and apologized unreservedly to Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin in an meeting with him Thursday.

Ontario’s ombudsman has identified an award-winning Durham Region police detective as the officer behind a series of derogatory tweets and slammed his force for its “Animal House” behaviour.

In a twist to a continuing tweet imbroglio, Ombudsman Andre Marin identified Det. Jeff Caplan, a supervisor in Durham’s major crimes fraud unit, as the source of the offensive messages on Friday — ironically, via Twitter.

Caplan apologized for his actions when he and his lawyer met with Marin on Thursday for 40 minutes.

“I accepted Det. Jeff Caplan’s heartfelt and sincere apology,” Marin tweeted. “(In my opinion) Det. Caplan … is a very good cop, who snapped and made an impulsive decision which he regrets.”

The force itself had refused to publicly name the officer, who still faces a charge of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act, until a formal hearing Oct.1. His identity might have never been known if he had resigned or reached a pre-hearing settlement.

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Marin said Caplan, who is about 40, indicated he “would be falling on his sword” and accepting guilt.

Caplan understood his name should be made public in the interest of transparency, Marin noted.

Marin, however, questioned whether the “prank” of sending tweets from a police station was normal behaviour within the Durham force.

“Police stations are not expected to be run like National Lampoon’s Animal House,” he told reporters, comparing the situation to antics in the Hollywood movie. “It’s not a frat house. I think the buck stops with the chief.

“It’s unfathomable that this could happen in a police station.”

Durham police spokesperson Dave Selby said the force would not comment on Marin’s remarks. Marin and Durham Police Chief Mike Ewles have been openly criticizing each other for their handling of the case.

Marin said Caplan explained that he had been going through “personal hardship” at the time of last month’s tweets, which came just minutes before the ombudsman announced that his office would be investigating use of force policies followed by police in dealing with potentially violent situations, following the shooting of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim on a Toronto streetcar.

“The circumstances got the best of him or the worst of him, and basically he had an impulsive moment,” Marin said.

The Star made several attempts over the past two weeks to reach Caplan through emails and phone calls to confirm a source’s information that he was behind the tweets. Caplan never responded, nor did he respond to a Friday request for comment.

Marin revealed that a Twitter user named “Joe Mayo” tweeted that the ombudsman was a “carded member” of Al Qaeda, among other slurs.

Marin identified him as Det.-Const. Scott Dennis, who in fact worked under Caplan in the fraud unit. But the Durham police service’s own investigation discovered that Dennis was on vacation and another officer was responsible. Marin later apologized to Dennis.

Caplan’s lawyer, Joseph Markson, described the tweets as “impulsive and stupid acts” that were “out of character.”

“He’s a good man, who’s a good officer, who made impulsive mistakes that he wishes he could take back,” said Markson.

He said Caplan did not “attempt or intend” to impersonate a fellow officer. “Joe Mayo” had been used as a parody account within the unit, for playing pranks. Before Caplan sent the offensive tweets, he deleted Dennis’s email address from the account and believed it was wholly anonymous, according to his lawyer.

Caplan was a top detective in the Oshawa unit but he was transferred to the criminal investigation bureau in Bowmanville after the tweets.

He won a Canadian Banks’ Law Enforcement Award in 2009 for his work as a lead investigator in cracking a multi-million-dollar credit and debit card skimming operation. Police charged 93 people, including organized crime members.

Last year, Caplan he presented the work of the fraud unit’s organized crime section at a meeting of the Durham police board.

Marin said Friday that Durham police had not kept him informed about their investigation into the tweets, and he was in the odd position of getting information from the accused officer himself this week.

He said the decision to keep the identity of the tweeter secret seemed to have been made in the interests of the police force, not Caplan, in order to protect its image.

He said Durham police had portrayed their internal probe as “slick gumshoe work” when Caplan had already confessed to investigators.

Earlier, Ewles said it was “troubling” that Marin “would rush to judgment” by quickly identifying Dennis as the perpetrator without investigation and evidence.

Ewles and the Durham police as a whole have not apologized to Marin for the tweets. But Marin said the force owes him and the community an apology.

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